Muting device for accordions



May 26, 1953 E. c. FlLlCE MUTING DEVICE FOR ACCORDIONS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed April 17, 1950 INVENTOR 679M652" c. F/L/CE TTORNEYS Patented May26, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

My invention relates to accordions and more particularly to means forproducing a muting effect and for improving the tone quality of anaccordion. Included among the objects of my invention are:

First, to provide an accordion wherein the base section is tonallyisolated to a substantial extent from the treble section, that is, thenotes produced in the base section issue mainly from the base sectionwhereas, the notes produced by the treble section issue mainly from thetreble section.

Second, to provide an accordion wherein sound absorbing means aredisposed between the treble reed blocks and the treble sound chamber islined with sound absorbing material as well as being substantiallysealed except for relatively small ports, whereby on the whole animproved muted effect is obtained.

Third, to provide an accordion wherein the base reed blocks aresubstantially enclosed, the

base sound chamber is almost sealed and the base keys are equipped withsealing elements to minimize flow of air in approximate proportion tothe number of keys depressed.

With the above and other objects, which may appear hereinafter,reference is directed to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of my accordion taken through|--l of Figure 4,

Figure 2 is a fragmentary sectional view of the treble keyboard takenthrough 22 of Figure 4,

Figure 3 is a fragmentary perspective view of the sound absorber whichis mounted between the treble reed blocks,

Figure 4 is a reduced fragmentary elevational view of my accordion,

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the shell which encloses the base reedblocks,

Figure 6 is a perspective view of the partition mounted between thebellows and treble section of the accordion,

Figure '7 is a perspective view of the plate which covers the treblesection of the accordion,

Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view through 8-8 of Figure 4 showingone of the base keys and the muting or sealing means employed therewith,and

Figure 9 is a fragmentary sectional view through 99 of Figure 1 showinga manner in which an end of the cover plate is secured.

My accordion includes a base section I in the form of a substantiallyrectangular box-like structure having side walls 2 and an end panel 3.In the conventional accordion, the end panel 3 would be perforate but inthe construction of my accordion the end wall is solid or at leastsubstantially so.

One of the side walls 2 is inclined and constitutes a base keyboard 4.Opposite from the end wall 3 is a partition 5 on which are mountedseveral base reed blocks 6. The reed blocks are conventional, forexample, the blocks are formed of wood provided with appropriatechannels over which are mounted reeds. The channels contained in thereed blocks communicate with sound slots 1 provided in the partition 5.The slots I are controlled by valves 8 which may be conventional.

It is preferred to interpose between the reed blocks 6 and the partition5 an absorbent pad or insulating pad 9.

The valves 8 are connected by a suitable conventional link and levermeans H] to stems I I of base keys 12. The base keys are mounted in abank of guide or apertures provided in the base keyboard l. The stem ofeach base key is equipped with a small pad 13, which when the key is inits raised position, as shown in Figures 1 and 8, seal against themargins of the corresponding guide aperture.

The base reed blocks 6 are enclosed in a shell M which completely coversthem except for a marginal slit IS. The reed blocks and the enclosingshell project into a bellows I6. The bellows is provided with end framesI! one of which is secured to the base section I and the other of whichis secured to a treble section l8.

Adjacent the bellows, the treble section is provided with a partitionmember 19 which is preferably solid except for a few small openings 20.In the present instant, three such openings are shown.

The treble section is substantially rectangular in form and includesside walls 2| which support a partition 22 in spaced parallel relationwith the partition l9. The partition 22 is provided with sound slots 23which communicate with the passages of treble reed blocks 24 similar tothe base reed blocks, except for size and type of reeds.

It is preferred to interpose between the reed blocks and partition 22 aporous insulating or absorbent pad 25.

Two treble reed blocks are shown. Mounted between these blocks is asound absorbing block 26. It has been found convenient and satisfactoryto utilize a reed block minus its reeds to perform the functions of thesound absorbing block 26. The efiicacy of the sound absorbing block isincreased by felt padding 21 on all or essential portions of itssurface.

The sound slots 23 are controlled by treble valves 28 mounted on theside of the partition 22 opposite from the reed blocks. The side wallsof the treble section extend upwardly to surround the treble valves andare closed by a cover shell or plate 29. The cover plate is linedinternally with sound absorbing material 30. The cover plate isimperforate except for slits 3| of relatively small area.

Extending outwardly at an angle from one side of the treble section is atreble keyboard 32 having conventional keys 33 which are connected bysuitable lever means 34 to the valves 28. It is desirable to minimizeairflow between the keys 33 and the adjacent margin of the cover plate29. This is accomplished by means of a seal pad or strip 35. It ispreferred to dampen the movement of the keys and this is accomplished bycushions 36 and 37 disposed under the white and black keys of thekeyboard.

The padding and sound absorbing elements employed in my accordion havebeen determined after considerable experiments tests. It has been foundthat by isolating as far as practical, the treble and base sections andthat by reducing the airflow through the accordion to an amountsufficient only to operate the reeds actually in operation that a verysubstantial and improved tonal quality is obtained.

Having fully described my invention, it is to be understood that I donot wish to be limited to the details herein set forth, but my inventionis of the full scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An accordion involving: a base section; a treble section; a bellowsbetween and connecting said sections; each section including reed banks,valve means controlling the reeds of said reed banks and levers and keysfor operating said valves; means substantially enclosing said base reedbanks and tending to minimize transfer of sound from said base reedbanks through said bellows to said treble reed bank; a partition betweensaid treble section and said bellows, said partition having relativesmall ports for supply of air to said treble reed blocks and tending tominimize transfer of sound from reed treble to said base sections; asound absorbing structure mounted between said treble reed banks.

2. An accordion involving: a base section; a treble section; a bellowsbetween and connecting said sections; each section including reed banks,valve means controlling the reeds of said reed banks and levers and keysfor operating said valves; a housing enclosing said treble reed banks,said housing being sealed except for apertures having in aggregate anarea substantially less than the aggregate area of the reed passage ofsaid reed banks; sound absorbing material covering at least a portion ofthe interior of said treble section housing; a sound absorbing structuremounted between said reed blocks; and a partition separating said treblesection from said bellows, said partition having apertures having anaggregate area less than the aggregate area of the reed passages in saidreed blocks.

3. An accordion involving: a base section; a treble section; a bellowsbetween and connecting said sections; each section including reed banks,valve means controlling the reeds of said reed banks and levers and keysfor operating said valves; the reed blocks of said base sectionprojecting into said bellows; and a shell enclosing said base reedblocks to minimize ingress and egress of air to and from said bellowsthrough said reed blocks, said shell also dampening sound transfer fromsaid base reed blocks to the bellows cavity and to said treble section;said base section including a housing for said levers and keys havingguide apertures for reciprocably mounting said keys, said housing beingsubstantially sealed ex cept for clearance between said guide aperturesand keys; valve elements closing said apertures and operable to opensaid apertures when said keys are depressed; a housing enclosing saidtreble reed banks, said housing being sealed except for apertures havingin aggregate an area substantially less than the aggregate area of thereed passages of said reed banks; sound absorbing material covering atleast a portion of the interior of said treble section housing; a soundabsorbing structure mounted between said reed blocks; and a partitionseparating said treble section from said bellows said partition havingapertures having an aggregate area less than the aggregate area of thereed passages in said reed blocks.

ERNEST C. FILICE.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS NumberName Date 1,797,921 Nardone Mar. 24, 1931 1,904,763 Rieschick Apr. 18,1933 2,162,054 Bolster June 13, 1939 2,230,162 Lidblom Jan. 28, 19412,434,441 Seybold 1 Jan. 13, 1948 2,502,085 Frontalini T Mar. 28, 1950FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 259,350 Italy June 21, 1928

